


soft and sweet

by Kangoo



Series: Front toward enemy [21]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Baking, Cats! as many of them as i can fit in here, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, First Dates, Hair Washing, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2020-08-19 04:23:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20203672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangoo/pseuds/Kangoo
Summary: the domestic life of team takeout





	1. Cat(s)

**Author's Note:**

> title is from hozier's "work song"

It's been a long day of reading reports and kicking Marcus's ass in Sparrow racing and Cayde is ready to collapse on his couch and watch space soap opera for a while. 

He's in a good mood, and he's humming under his breath as he unlocks his door and walks in. He turns on the light, throws his cloak on top of a chair, nods to the cat on his couch–

There's a cat on his couch.

It looks as surprised to see him as he is to see it, sitting with its leg up and staring at him like he caught it in the middle of bathing. Neither of them move for some time.

Then, slowly, watching around for signs of a break in or a window left open, Cayde steps to the cat and offers his hand to it. It sniffs his fingers, little wet finger against bare metal. Then it rubs its cute little head against his hand, purring lightly when he scratches its chin and behind the ears. 

Pretty affectionate cat. Cute, too, with its soft tabby fur and tawny eyes. Doesn't answer what it's doing here though.

Cayde tentatively puts his hand around the cat and, when it doesn't do more than slowly blink at him, he hoists it up and walks to the kitchen with it cradled in his arms. It rubs its head against his body armor then stands on its hind legs to reach his face. He's going to be absolutely covered in cat hair.

There's a sticky note on the fridge, neon pink so he's sure not to miss it. The cat scrambles up his shoulder and he takes advantage of his newly free hand to take the note.

_Gone on Titan for a mission :(_

_Found this little lady on my way back to pack my stuff. She can keep you company while I'm gone!_

_She likes to be pet a lot!!! _

_Love u_

_Raze ♥_

Cayde scratches the cat under her chin and smiles as her purrs rumble like a little engine against his neck. Razel bringing in strays and then making Cayde take care of them. Typical.

He tucks the note in his pocket. "Well, Lieutenant," he says, looking at the cat currently draping herself around his shoulders like a furry scarf. "What do you say we get some fish for dinner?"

She makes a little 'meep!' of a meow. Alright. Sushi it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they end up adopting a bunch of cats, including Captain (a foul-tempered, one-eyed cat who hates basically everyone except Holliday, for some reason), Admiral (the fattest cat you'll ever see), Sergeant (the DUMBEST cat you'll ever see) and Commander (pure scheming evil in the smallest package)


	2. First date

"Alright, it's an easy mission," Lek says. She checks her scout rifle before shouldering it, throws Razel a dubious look as he does the same with his sword. "Get in, kill the Cabal guy, get out. Let's make it quick, alright? And with minimal bloodbath. I have a date tonight and I don't want to be late because I had to take a shower after you got guts in my hair. Again."

Razel rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't want to miss my date either."

That gets her immediate attention. "You have a _date_? With _who_?" She transmats mid-question, Razel close behind. When they reappear she says, "It's Cayde, isn't it? Finally got his head out his ass long enough to ask you out?" 

He nods, grinning, and she whistles in an appreciative way.

"Let's not keep the boss waiting then."

Of course things never go as planned when Razel is involved.

Cayde has been waiting in this restaurant for... Hours, he thinks, as he watches the clock on the other side of the room. Way longer than he would have for any other date, honestly. But he knows Razel went on a last minute mission in the EDZ earlier today and he tends to get distracted. Also he's been waiting for this date for a long time and he's not going to let impatience get in the way of a good time.

Doesn't mean he's not a teeny tiny little bit anxious though. What if Razel isn't coming? Maybe he got caught up in some bigger operation and went off world for the foreseeable future. Or maybe he forgot and went straight to bed. Neither would be a first, or a surprise. Wouldn't be the first time Cayde got stood up anyway: you don't live as long as he has without some dating mishaps.

And at this point he's pretty sure it's what's happening. He's shred a whole table's worth of napkins into itty bitty pieces in an effort to distract himself from the ticking clock. The waiters have stopped coming to ask if he wants to order anything. They throw him glances every so often, first pitying then irritated as he kept taking up a table for nothing.

He checks the clock again. Ten minutes before closing. Well, he's desperate, but not /that/ desperate. Razel isn't coming tonight.

Too bad.

He walks out of the restaurant and shoves his hands in his pockets. He's even wearing his nice jacket, the one with the silver lining on the hood, even though it's far too thin for the current temperature and he can already feel his heat core whirs in an effort to keep his hardware from slowing down with the cold. 

Silver lining. Heh. 

Cayde tilts his head up, staring at the dark sky above. His sigh comes out in a white cloud and he watches it dissipate in the night air. Disappointment sits heavy at the back of his throat, a faint sense of sadness at the missed opportunity. It's fine, though. There's always later. He just needs to sit on Razel to stop him from running after trouble, next time! It's fine.

He's hungry, though, and that's a problem he's not sure how to deal with. Even if he knew how to cook more than scrambled eggs he doesn't have the energy for it right now, and... He's pretty sure he's out of eggs anyway. Pretty sure the place down the block from his apartment is open until 1 am, he can call ahead and get something delivered, it's not great gastronomy but when has that ever stopped him–

Footsteps behind him. Someone running. A mugger, maybe? No, too loud. Trouble anyway. He whirls around, hand going to the knife strapped to his thigh–

Just in time to see Razel trip on thin air. He stumbles a few steps and somehow manages not to fall flat on his face, by some Warlock mojo-miracle probably. He skids to a halt in front of Cayde, panting slightly.

"Raze?" He says, startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry," Razel replies, ignoring the question – or not hearing it. "I'm _so_ sorry, Cayde! The mission kinda went to hell and we had to kill a lot more Cabal than expected and then the _Vex _showed up, and what the fuck is up with that anyway, Vex in the EDZ? And then it was like. Already way late and we still had to fly back and I got lost because Cubix is a terrible copilot and-" he breathes out and seems to deflate with it, like a sad balloon. "I'm late. Sorry."

That's when Cayde notice he's still wearing his armor, singed and battered as it is. The helmet is missing – that happens a lot, impossible to tell if he left it on his ship or somewhere on the battlefield – and his robes are missing a huge chunk of fabric around the hem, almost like something chewed it off. 

Something probably _did_ chew it off. Cabal warbeast is likely, but Cabal legionary isn't out of the question. They get creative when they're desperate.

Then Razel digs his hand in his pocket with the air of someone just remembering something very important and takes out–

Flowers. A handful of them, colorful even in the low light, looking kind of rumpled from their stay in Razel's infamously cluttered pockets. He thrusts them at Cayde.

"I got you flowers!" He says, like an excuse. "I couldn't find any flower shop open at this hour but Lek told me that's what you do when you go on a date and you're sorry about something, so I picked some from Ikora's garden and a few more on my way here."

Somehow that's the most romantic shit Cayde has ever seen: Razel, ready to face Ikora's wrath by going trampling around her flowerbeds just so he has something to bring on his date.

He takes the flowers in one hand and then Razel's in the other, tangling their fingers together. He can feel the way his internal light brightens with his smile, giving golden highlights to Razel's otherworldly skin.

"You're fine," he says, tugging on Razel's hand to bring him closer. "You're not even _that_ late. Just... By a few hours."

"That's kind of a lot," Razel notes.

"Eh. I had worse on stake-outs, and the company wasn't half as good back then. I was about to order something from that one place down the street, you're in?" He bumps their shoulders together. “Mediocre take out is like. A first date staple."

"Is it really?"

"According to my dating life, at least," he says, and finds he can't stop smiling.

He doesn't regret waiting all that much, in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on their second date razel falls off a ledge. might need to write that too...


	3. Hair

One of life's greatest mystery: what the fuck is Razel doing in the bathroom to take so much time? Cayde, given the wonderful privilege of being able to be in there with him, investigated the matter... Thoroughly.

The answer is deceptively simple. He just bathes.

For hours at a time. 

No funny business, no naval battles in the bathtub with Cayde's extensive collections of plastic ducks. Apart from occasionally falling asleep in the warm water he just... soaks.

Surprisingly calm, for Razel and his "can't-stand-still-for-twenty-minutes" attitude. 

After long months of enthusiastic research, Cayde would say at least half of the two hours he spends in the bathroom are spent washing his hair.

Ah... Razel's hair. Truly a gift to humanity as great as the Light. He takes better care of it than the rest of himself combined, and it shows. Long, soft black hair, that runs between Cayde's fingers like silk– he spends most of their time together with a hand on Razel's head, petting him. 

There's the occasional hair stuck in robot finger joints problem but oh well. 

It's what they're doing right now. Razel, up to his chin in hot, foamy water, and Cayde kneeling behind him. His eyes trail down the pale column of a neck, the dark locks of hair curling in the steam.

"It's getting long," Cayde muses as he cards his fingers through Razel's hair.

Razel hums, eyes closed, tilts his head back to give Cayde better access. He's rarely so relaxed, so calm, and it's always a delight to see.

"Can't be bothered to cut it," he mutters, sounding drowsy. "I just let Lek cut my split ends with her knife."

Thank the Traveler for Lek's excellent fashion sense, and her dexterity with a knife. He wouldn't trust anyone else with Razel's perfect hair... Short of an actual hairdresser, but he knows there's little chance of that. He knows Razel would rather shave it all off than sit still for half an hour while someone work on his hair.

Cayde presses a kiss against the crown of Razel's head. "Pass me the shampoo?"

Razel does, and ducks under the water briefly while Cayde pours some of the vanilla-scented shampoo in his hand. It became a bit of a ritual, a natural progression of Razel's bathing habits and Cayde's obsession with his hair. It's almost second nature now to card his fingers through Razel's wet hair, lathering it with soap and massaging the scalp lightly. Cayde's sure he would purr if he could, with the way he pushes his head against his hands, a content smile on his lips.

Cayde keeps passing his hands through his hair, almost mechanically, meditatively, until Razel starts to sag under the attention. Them he rinses it off and rises to his feet, his hand trailing over Razel's neck before he lets go.

"Come on, buddy, up with you."

Razel groans, half asleep already. Cayde reaches into the back and half drags, half carries him out, putting him on unsteady feet just long enough to wrap a towel around him. Razel leans all his weight on him, humming in a soft, satisfied kind of way, not even bothering to open his eyes. Cayde gets the message easily enough. He scoops Razel up in his arms, bridal style, and carries him out of the bathroom all the way to the bed. 

Upon which he dumps him unceremoniously, damp towel and all. There's a bit of disgruntled grumbling from Razel but he's too tired to truly protest, especially once Cayde crawls into bed with him, warm right through his metal plates.

Cayde loops his arms around Razel and lets him snuggle against his chest. "You just want me as a space heater," he says good naturedly.

"You're my favorite bed warmer," Razel replies sleepily. He tangles their legs together and pushes his face in the crook of Cayde's neck, breathing in the smell of motor oil and warm metal that clings to him from hanging out in the hangar all day.

"Hey! What do you mean your _favorite_-"

But Razel is already asleep – he must have been more tired than Cayde first thought. He huffs, mock-irritated even with no one to hear it, and runs his fingers through damp hair, combing the knots out in a gentle manner so as to not disturb his boyfriend's rest.


	4. Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> making pie is the only way i know how to show affection

Cayde is welcomed home by the smell of cinnamon and warm apples and only a hint of blood, which is maybe the nicest his apartment has ever smelled. Usually it’s more like, gun oil, a lot of blood and the distinctive smell of something, somewhere, that is or has recently been on fire.

He throws his cloak on top of the couch and tiptoes to the kitchen. Hot, homemade food usually means Holliday dropped by with her girlfriend and it’s always a lot of fun to sneak up on her.

But there’s no Amanda in the kitchen. Only Razel.

His boyfriend is sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands hovering over Admiral who’s curled in his lap. Sergeant is draped over his shoulders like a scarf, purring like a Dark Age engine and getting orange fur all over his clothes. There’s flour and sugar in his hair, stark white against the black strands, and what seems like an entire egg drying on the front of his shirt.

The kitchen is in a similar state, as it always is when Razel ends up in there. What seems like every counter top is covered in dry and wet ingredients alike, like the milk puddle with its little islands of eggshells and apple peels. But there’s also a golden apple pie baking in the oven, and he can’t argue with that result.

It takes Razel a second to notice him, but when he does he jumps to his feet, hoisting Admiral up with him. "Hi!" He grins, alight with a kind of joy that makes Cayde glad just to be sharing a room with him. "I made pie! I thought that would be nice."

He offers Admiral to Cayde. The cat makes a disgruntled _meow_ as it hangs limply from his outreached hands but otherwise doesn’t react. Cayde takes him, balances his weight against one shoulder. He takes one of Razel’s hands, sticky with sugar and apple juice, tangles their fingers together as he presses a kiss in the inside of his palm.

"Yeah," he says, feeling happiness like sugar on his tongue. "It _is_ nice."


	5. Sunshine (and more cats)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Razel naps like it's his job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been taking naps in the sun a lot lately and like. do you know how good it feels to finally be Warm again??? this is the height of luxury

Cayde comes home and finds all his cats piled up on the couch.

Correction: they’re piled up on _Razel_, who’s currently sprawled on said couch. At least that’s who Cayde hopes it is under all the cat fur. That does explain how the couch got pushed all the way in front of the window though. He doubts the cats could do that with their little paws.

(He’s learned not to underestimate their cunning, but there’s a limit to the bullshit they can get up to in his absence. He hopes.)

He leans over the back of the couch and reaches down to ruffle Razel’s hair. His boyfriend mumbles something, opens his eyes, and smiles sleepily at Cayde.

“Hi!”

“Hi, cat magnet.”

He glances down, confused. “I don’t remember them getting on top of me.”

“You sleep like the dead,” Cayde says, nodding. “But you always sleep in their spot and you take like, ten times the space, so they had to find a solution eventually.”

(Razel is, much like their small cat army, drawn to patches of sunlight in summer and space heaters in winter.)

“Hm-mh, good point.” Razel sits up, gently pushing cats off him. He grabs Admiral and hands him over to Cayde, who happily takes the cat in his arms. His freckles are glowing, he notices, faint gold dusting Razel’s cheeks. Sunlight does that to him.

“You eaten yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you.” Or rather he slept all afternoon and forgot to eat lunch, which is basically the same thing. “Takeout?”

Cayde briefly considers cracking open the Beginner’s Cookbook Ikora gave them, then remembers the last time they tried to actually make something from it and nods. “Sure. Pizza?”

“Add mozzarella sticks to that and I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come haunt me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/2Fast2Kangoo) or [tumblr](https://youngster-monster.tumblr.com/)


End file.
